Category Archives: Edmonton

Autumn has just begun, so this is a quick comparison between the seasons of the Tokyo area and Edmonton. First of all, Edmonton is in a temperate climate zone, which has warm, short summers and cold winters. Tokyo is in a humid subtropical climate, which has hot, humid summers, a monsoon season and a mild winter.

Autumn – In Tokyo, it starts out very warm or even hot in September, and finishes cool in December. There’s plenty of rain and possible typhoons in early autumn. In November and December, the leaves change colour. It’s a generally pleasant season that is great for outdoor activities. In Edmonton, it starts out warm or cool in September, and finishes very cold in December, below 0 degrees Celsius. The leaves change colour in September to October, and snow can start as early as September or as late as November. I’d have to say that autumn in Tokyo is far better and very comfortable.

Winter – In Tokyo, it starts out comfortably cool in December, but quickly gets colder, with temperatures of around 7 or 8 degrees in January and February. Snow is possible, but doesn’t happen every year. Plum trees start blooming in February, with cherry trees blooming in March. By March, the temperatures start getting comfortable again. In Edmonton, it’s cold and snows the entire winter. March may see some thawing, but the snow is usually still there. Unless you like cold weather, Tokyo has the better winter, where you can stay active outside all season.

Spring – In Tokyo, the season starts out with blooming cherry blossoms and comfortable temperatures. It’s absolutely beautiful by May, and it starts getting hot then. Spring finishes in June with hot, humid weather and the beginning of rainy season. In Edmonton, spring starts out cold, but in April, the snow melts and leaves piles of sand on the side of the roads. This results in possible blowing sand. Everything starts getting green around the end of April or beginning of May, and it becomes quite beautiful. Spring ends in June with warm weather. Snow is often possible as late as May. Who wins? Tokyo is beautiful, and it’s the most amazing season I’ve seen ever. Edmonton has residual winter, and it can be quite messy. Tokyo has the better spring.

Summer – In Tokyo, summer starts out hot, humid and very rainy. It’s rainy season. That lasts into July, when it becomes hot, humid and very sunny. The rest of summer until September is hot, humid and very sunny with the occasional typhoon. This season has very stable weather with little variation from day to day, and even night time temperatures are hot. Very uncomfortable for sleeping. In Edmonton, summer starts warm, and is generally warm until early September. In September, it starts getting cool. Summer is unstable, and there can be widely varying temperatures, as well as incredible thunderstorms, which are very frequent. It can be hot, and it can also be quite cool. Who wins the summer battle? This is a difficult one. Edmonton is more comfortable, but the weather is unpredictable. I can depend on the weather being stable in Tokyo in summer, even though it is incredibly hot and humid. I’d call it a draw.

Before I continue with the posts about Japan, I have a couple more things to show about Edmonton. These are a couple of videos I took. The first is my sister’s dog, Romeo. I was teasing him with his new toy.

Today, I went to West Edmonton Mall to see the movie “Avatar” in the theatre. We saw it in 3D, but not in Imax. I’ll make another post about the movie another time, but I’ll just say that it was very good. Anyway, here are some final pictures of Edmonton and the mall. I’ll be going to the airport in 4 hours to return to Japan.

We're going down the Whitemud Freeway to West Edmonton Mall to see "Avatar" in 3D!

This is one of the many ravines in Edmonton. This one has a ski hill.

We're now coming to the river valley. It sure is snowy.

We're driving across the bridge over the river valley. In the distance, you can see downtown Edmonton.

We've arrived at West Edmonton Mall!

Here is the outside of World Waterpark. It's really big inside. More pictures below.

That's Fantasyland Hotel at West Edmonton Mall. It's a theme hotel.

This is a robotic dragon hanging from the ceiling in the theatre at the mall. Every 30 minutes or so, it starts moving and breathes fire.

There's a big lake in the mall, and this is a replica of Christopher Columbus' ship.

That's a submarine in the lake. It travels around on a track, and people can take a ride to see fish and other things.

Inside World Waterpark. There are a lot of big waterslides here! Looks like fun.

This is the wave pool in World Waterpark. I believe it is the world's largest indoor wave pool.

You can jump on a trampoline here. They put a harness on you with bungee cords, so you can flip while you jump.

West Edmonton Mall has a few areas that are themed. This area is Chinatown, including Chinese restaurants, a garden and Asian supermarket.

Another themed area is Bourbon Street, which has a New Orleans theme. This is at the entrance.

Haichu! I saw this in the Asian supermarket. It's imported from Japan.

Nice Lamborghini. Too expensive for me!

The woman is holding a two-toed sloth. There are some animals in the mall, including the sloths, lemurs, fish, sharks, seals and penguins.

I am posting this from my iPhone! It took some time to figure out how to get wi-fi working with my sister’s home network. Anyway, here are some pictures from my first couple of days here. Enjoy the snow!

A nice, snowy street near my sister's house. It's brown because they put sand on the road to prevent it from being too slippery.

Some Christmas decorations in WalMart. Which of these doesn't belong?

Yes, there's Fanta in Canada, too! This is cream soda, which I can't find in Japan.

The parking lot outside Costco.

My sister going through the self-serve checkout in a grocery store.

This is in my sister's car. See the temperature?

More snowy goodness.

Chinese takeout! They don't make it like this in Japan.

Outside my sister's house. This is her driveway. Like how high the snow it piled up?